My goodness.. where does the time go?
I keep thinking about posting on here, and then somethings swoops in and steals my time and attention away. Next thing I know, I'm on here determined to post something and it's been 9 months. Good grief.
So much has seemed to happen in the last 9 or so, months. Giuliana is so much bigger, learning so much, talking so much.. over all just SO much fun! I'm loving being a mommy more and more every day.
Giuliana loves her baby. I pulled out some of my old dolls and there is one that she especially adores. A cabbage patch that I think was one of my favorites as well. Blond hair, blue eyes.. just like my baby now! :) Every time Giuliana sees her she gives out the cutest little giggle... or giggles. She basically doesn't stop giggling until she has picked her up and squeezed her a few times with hugs. It's precious. My heart melts not only that she loves something that I as a child loved, but that she has a "little mommy gene" ingrained in her.. even at such a young age. It amazes me. Girls have this nurturing character.. it's just so sweet.
Giuliana has been talking so much lately as well. She can say just about anything that we prompt her to say.. or at least she usually ALWAYS attempts to say it. I got her little Veggie Tales nativity scene out and she can say Joseph with crazy clear pronunciation, or at least I think so! ;) She says Meh-Meh, for Mary... we're getting there. She loves talking though... which is so fun to listen to, and carry on a conversation with. She has started nodding her head when I ask her questions.. She has actually been doing this for a while, but I notice that she does it now more when she really does mean Yes, and not just something fun to do.
So many more updates on her that I could go on and on about... I'm so thankful for every new thing she does.... every time she tells me she loves me by stroking my face... every kiss she gives me, and every "ahhh" hug I get.... but I'll spare you... and my newly obnoxious cubital tunnel. ;)
I have a new appreciation for each and every thing that Giuliana does... and everything that I can watch her grow into.
Back at the end of September I went in for my yearly physical with my dr.. a new dr, who I absolutely love. I told her about some tenderness that I had been experiencing and she decided to do a very thorough breast exam. After what seemed like so long, and having me switch into a couple positions, she noted a lump in my right breast. I didn't really worry about it while I was there, strangely.. I think I wasn't sure what to think. She recommended, and wrote up a prescription for an ultrasound to check the area. I remember leaving and thinking... what just happened??? On the way home I immediately started thinking the worst... Looking at the paper and seeing "LUMP".... it is just scary. Nothing comforting about it, even when she said that it "could be, and at my age, probably was nothing", but that she couldn't ignore it and I that I should have it checked still. Came home and told Phil.... and I feel like I went into zombie mode for the next 24 hours. Anxiety overload..... just scared.
I called right away that day and set up to have the ultrasound the next day back over in West Bloomfield, at what might be the most gorgeous hospital I have ever seen).
Sitting there in the room with all of the ladies who all looked like they were facing the worst, and had at LEAST 40-50 years on me. All I could think was that I'm too young to be here....
Thankfully I have a WONDERFUL friend who kept Giuliana for us, and Phil was able to come with me. Even though he couldn't come back, it helped knowing he was there. Long story short... they took me back, I changed, and then.. they forgot about me. So now.... not only was I assuming the worst was wrong with me, I was forgotten about and sat for over an hour watching people come in and out getting mammograms, be told there was strange areas they still wanted to watch longer.. watch people come in for surgery.... ugh. I was about to just start bawling..
EVEN longer story shorter.... I was finally taken back to a room, and the ultrasound begun. The nurse was very nice and tried to make small talk about what Giuliana was going to be for Halloween, etc... all I wanted to do was hear that she didn't see anything! Finally after some looking.. She said, "okay.. I'm going to have the doctor come in and take a look, but as far as I can see, I don't see anything!"
RELIEF has never felt so good. I was still a little reserved because the Dr still needed to "okay" it, but if she didn't see anything, maybe I was okay.
The dr came in and after her examination... she didn't see anything either! Praise the Lord!
All said... I am fine. It was apparently nothing more than "lumpy bumpy tissue".
It brought some things to my mind as I went through all of this and think about it..
First of all... God is good. Always. Even when we think our world is going to come crashing down.. God has plans for us. Bigger than our own, bigger than we could imagine.
Secondly... I have a huge problem with anxiety. Honestly.. on the way home and once I got home, all I could think about was that I had cancer and that I was too young to die. How sad is that? Not actually that, but I don't want to live my life that way. If something so big as cancer were to ever happen to me or someone so close to me... How would I handle it? Would I handle it with strength.... positivity.... courage?
I want to live my life in Thanksgiving. Always conscious of the things that God has blessed me with. Here and now. I am blessed. I have a wonderful husband that I am proud to call my best friend... We have a BEAUTIFUL daughter that I would lay down my life for in a second! She is the best thing that has ever happen to us. She makes me a better person daily.. she challenges me... encourages me... and blesses my heart constantly.
I think the lump actually ended up being a source of blessing in my life. It made me think about things.... look at what is important, and pay closer attention to the other blessings in my life.
God never gives us more than we can handle.. and that is something I want to embrace more in my life.
Even though hard times, or times that make me stressed, or down-right scared.... Always remembering that God has something bigger and better for me than all of that... is what I'm thankful for.
Now.... Go gives some hugs and cuddles to the ones you love the most!
Peace, Love, and Extra Snuggles..
Linz
Friday, November 9, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
*~True Love~*
Happy Valentines Day Friends! :) Yes, I know it was yesterday, but I have some time tonight so I thought I would put up a long overdue new post.
We had a fun day here at our house! Phil is on nights this month, so he got home just after I got Giuliana up and ready for the day. He brought with him a few surprises for us! :) He got me a gorgeous bouquet of tulips, which I ADORE. If there is a way to my heart with flowers, it's tulips! I love them so much. Phil also picked up flowers for the other little lady in his life, Giuliana. He was so sweet about it. He got her 5 orange gerber daisies. They are beautiful.
He had me sit her down and then he placed them in front of her. She just looked at them, and then looked at him like, wow, thanks Daddy! It was very sweet. She just gently touched them... bent over and looked in the paper.. It was so sweet.
I love this. It just melted my heart. I remember when I was pregnant we thought for sure it was a boy. We did all the old wives tales.. and all the little tests you can do yourself to try and predict what it was going to be. EVERYTHING came out boy. Once we had the ultrasound and found out that we were having a girl, we both shocked, and so excited! A boy would have been wonderful, but a girl, HOW FUN! :) Immediately we switched to girl mode and I couldn't help but imagine the future.
To have a girl, to have Daddy wrapped around her tiny little fingers. I knew there would be immediate head over heels feelings towards Daddy. He's wonderful, after all :). I always wanted a little girl, to feel how I do about Phil. When you see him after a long day , to just be so excited! To run to him and feel the love that just radiates out of him when he hugs you. That love, it's something extraordinary. I feel it daily and I know for a fact she does!
Usually in the morning before he has been getting home from work, I'll go in and get her, change her diaper and then bring her back to our bed for her morning bottle. Usually just after we finish the bottle, Daddy gets home!! :) II can hear the garage open from our room, so when I do, I immediately go into "Daddy! Daddy's home!!" mode. I usually do it in a whispering voice. She starts looking around, and saying "Da", "Dadda" (sometimes in a whisper voice too, but SO excited sounding). We hear him grab a bite to eat and then start down the hallway. It's so cute watching her because by now she knows what it sounds like when he walks down the hallway and she looks toward the door. As soon as she sees him she completely lights up! All smiles, and usually starts trying to move all over the bed in her "I need to sit up, I need to dance, I need to be goofy" mode! :) It's adorable. OR she starts squealing, which she has been doing lately! :)
Either way, or however the details fall, she is always so excited to see her Daddy. The man who loves her to pieces! The man who is equally excited to see her as he scoops her up and does an airplane with her and attacks her with kisses.
She is fortunate. I am fortunate. We are blessed. This Valentines Day, I just want to say that I have the best hubby ever. He is such a hard worker, supporter, dreamer, he's funny, loving, caring, SO patient, smart.... oh lanta, I could go on and on at the risk of sounding so cheesy, but he really is all those things. PLUS, he's the greatest Dad in the world. He loves that little nugget with everything he is.
Which brings me to another reason I wanted to do this post.. I have been falling behind in my picture every week project. I've been really busy taking pictures that last couple days, so I thought I would post one that I just love. The theme this next week is True Love. I think this picture depicts true love at the core. A father's love for his daughter.
I hope you all had a wonderful Valentines Day with your lovelies! I know I did!
*~Peace, Love, and More Love~*
We had a fun day here at our house! Phil is on nights this month, so he got home just after I got Giuliana up and ready for the day. He brought with him a few surprises for us! :) He got me a gorgeous bouquet of tulips, which I ADORE. If there is a way to my heart with flowers, it's tulips! I love them so much. Phil also picked up flowers for the other little lady in his life, Giuliana. He was so sweet about it. He got her 5 orange gerber daisies. They are beautiful.
He had me sit her down and then he placed them in front of her. She just looked at them, and then looked at him like, wow, thanks Daddy! It was very sweet. She just gently touched them... bent over and looked in the paper.. It was so sweet.
I love this. It just melted my heart. I remember when I was pregnant we thought for sure it was a boy. We did all the old wives tales.. and all the little tests you can do yourself to try and predict what it was going to be. EVERYTHING came out boy. Once we had the ultrasound and found out that we were having a girl, we both shocked, and so excited! A boy would have been wonderful, but a girl, HOW FUN! :) Immediately we switched to girl mode and I couldn't help but imagine the future.
To have a girl, to have Daddy wrapped around her tiny little fingers. I knew there would be immediate head over heels feelings towards Daddy. He's wonderful, after all :). I always wanted a little girl, to feel how I do about Phil. When you see him after a long day , to just be so excited! To run to him and feel the love that just radiates out of him when he hugs you. That love, it's something extraordinary. I feel it daily and I know for a fact she does!
Usually in the morning before he has been getting home from work, I'll go in and get her, change her diaper and then bring her back to our bed for her morning bottle. Usually just after we finish the bottle, Daddy gets home!! :) II can hear the garage open from our room, so when I do, I immediately go into "Daddy! Daddy's home!!" mode. I usually do it in a whispering voice. She starts looking around, and saying "Da", "Dadda" (sometimes in a whisper voice too, but SO excited sounding). We hear him grab a bite to eat and then start down the hallway. It's so cute watching her because by now she knows what it sounds like when he walks down the hallway and she looks toward the door. As soon as she sees him she completely lights up! All smiles, and usually starts trying to move all over the bed in her "I need to sit up, I need to dance, I need to be goofy" mode! :) It's adorable. OR she starts squealing, which she has been doing lately! :)
Either way, or however the details fall, she is always so excited to see her Daddy. The man who loves her to pieces! The man who is equally excited to see her as he scoops her up and does an airplane with her and attacks her with kisses.
She is fortunate. I am fortunate. We are blessed. This Valentines Day, I just want to say that I have the best hubby ever. He is such a hard worker, supporter, dreamer, he's funny, loving, caring, SO patient, smart.... oh lanta, I could go on and on at the risk of sounding so cheesy, but he really is all those things. PLUS, he's the greatest Dad in the world. He loves that little nugget with everything he is.
Which brings me to another reason I wanted to do this post.. I have been falling behind in my picture every week project. I've been really busy taking pictures that last couple days, so I thought I would post one that I just love. The theme this next week is True Love. I think this picture depicts true love at the core. A father's love for his daughter.
I hope you all had a wonderful Valentines Day with your lovelies! I know I did!
*~Peace, Love, and More Love~*
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
*~Holding Momma~*
Thought I would take a little bit tonight to write about something that touches my heart, each and every night.
Every night when we do our bedtime routine Giuliana does something so sweet and makes every moment of the day worth it.
We get ready for bed, read a story or two, and then she has a bottle before turning off the lights and tucking her into bed. She usually always reaches for something to rub on her left eye while she has the bottle, because that makes her sleepy. The other hand is usually either holding my hand somewhere if not, the bottle. She drinks it slowly, seeming to soak up all that time with Mommy at the end of the day.. :)
We sit and rock and rock... I love just staring at her while she lays there. I always wonder what is she thinking.
RIGHT as she gets done with her bottle she leans her head over and rests it on my chest for a second.. and then what she does next always melts my heart.. night after night..
I slowly pick her up, almost sliding her from my chest to my shoulder without losing contact.. and she rests her head on my shoulder.. so sweetly, she just lays there.
I imagine she is thanking me for everything we do during the day.. as if she is saying, Thanks Momma, your the best. Thank you for playing with me today, feeding me, wiping my face that was covered with that yummy yogurt you gave me.. changing me.. Thank you Momma. I love you.
She lays there long enough for me to imagine all of these things and then most of the time pops up and nuzzles into my face. :) We stand up.. walk over to the crib.. and she lays back down on my shoulder.
I stand there and rock her back and forth.. loving EVERY moment, and then she looks at her bed. I'm sure these looks aren't always ooh bedtime!! Yay! ha! and they haven't always been lately, but sometimes, like tonight, I lay her down, she flips over to her belly, I cover her up, and she reaches back with her hands to grab her blanket (she likes it tucked under shoulders like a little burrito) :).
It's all these little moments that make every single moment of being a Momma worth it. I think every Momma has these moments. You spend all day pouring yourself out for your child(ren) and then you have these special times when it feels like they are turning around and holding you.. Making sure you know that you are loved.
I am head over heels in love with my little Valentine! She makes me so proud to call myself her Momma!
I love you Peanut! <3
Every night when we do our bedtime routine Giuliana does something so sweet and makes every moment of the day worth it.
We get ready for bed, read a story or two, and then she has a bottle before turning off the lights and tucking her into bed. She usually always reaches for something to rub on her left eye while she has the bottle, because that makes her sleepy. The other hand is usually either holding my hand somewhere if not, the bottle. She drinks it slowly, seeming to soak up all that time with Mommy at the end of the day.. :)
We sit and rock and rock... I love just staring at her while she lays there. I always wonder what is she thinking.
RIGHT as she gets done with her bottle she leans her head over and rests it on my chest for a second.. and then what she does next always melts my heart.. night after night..
I slowly pick her up, almost sliding her from my chest to my shoulder without losing contact.. and she rests her head on my shoulder.. so sweetly, she just lays there.
I imagine she is thanking me for everything we do during the day.. as if she is saying, Thanks Momma, your the best. Thank you for playing with me today, feeding me, wiping my face that was covered with that yummy yogurt you gave me.. changing me.. Thank you Momma. I love you.
She lays there long enough for me to imagine all of these things and then most of the time pops up and nuzzles into my face. :) We stand up.. walk over to the crib.. and she lays back down on my shoulder.
I stand there and rock her back and forth.. loving EVERY moment, and then she looks at her bed. I'm sure these looks aren't always ooh bedtime!! Yay! ha! and they haven't always been lately, but sometimes, like tonight, I lay her down, she flips over to her belly, I cover her up, and she reaches back with her hands to grab her blanket (she likes it tucked under shoulders like a little burrito) :).
It's all these little moments that make every single moment of being a Momma worth it. I think every Momma has these moments. You spend all day pouring yourself out for your child(ren) and then you have these special times when it feels like they are turning around and holding you.. Making sure you know that you are loved.
I am head over heels in love with my little Valentine! She makes me so proud to call myself her Momma!
I love you Peanut! <3
Thursday, January 19, 2012
p52 Week #3 *~I dreamed a dream~*
Well, it turns out that I was a week behind in my weekly challenge. Oops! This week is going live tonight at midnight! Oh well. Here is the link to the page I'm doing this with if you'd like to join. I have a great photo for this week too. A couple nights ago Phil had the day off and was planning on reading to Giuliana before she went to bed. I never hesitate to grab my camera during moments like these. With his crazy schedule and long hours, she doesn't always see him every day, so when he is able to be home with us for the day, or evening, both of us soak it up! :)
This was my dream. A little baby that we could love, cherish, read books to, hold when they are scared, snuggle when they are having a hard time sleeping, kiss for no reason at all but because you have kisses to give. :). All my life, I dreamed a dream, that one day God would bless me and my future husband with children, someone that I could watch feel the love from Phil as I do.. maybe even a little girl that would run to her Daddy when he got home from work and feel the way for him as I do when I haven't seen him all day. I just wanted to be a mom.
I remember praying over and over for my future children. That God would begin then to make me into the mom that He desired for me to be someday.
After Phil and I got married and had decided that we were going to start trying for kids I prayed and prayed.. "please God, just give us children.... please, make me a Mommy, that's all I want..".
It took a little while, but God heard my prayers..... He listened to my dreams... He blessed our home with thee greatest blessing either Phil or I have ever received........ and that little dream was born June 28, 2011.
I dreamed a dream.... and it came true..
This was my dream. A little baby that we could love, cherish, read books to, hold when they are scared, snuggle when they are having a hard time sleeping, kiss for no reason at all but because you have kisses to give. :). All my life, I dreamed a dream, that one day God would bless me and my future husband with children, someone that I could watch feel the love from Phil as I do.. maybe even a little girl that would run to her Daddy when he got home from work and feel the way for him as I do when I haven't seen him all day. I just wanted to be a mom.
I remember praying over and over for my future children. That God would begin then to make me into the mom that He desired for me to be someday.
After Phil and I got married and had decided that we were going to start trying for kids I prayed and prayed.. "please God, just give us children.... please, make me a Mommy, that's all I want..".
It took a little while, but God heard my prayers..... He listened to my dreams... He blessed our home with thee greatest blessing either Phil or I have ever received........ and that little dream was born June 28, 2011.
I dreamed a dream.... and it came true..
P52 Week #2 *~Made With Love~*
Whew! I almost missed the deadline this week. it's been a busy one. Couple extra days with Daddy (which is always a blessing), and other things, I just noticed that I am barely clipping the deadline to have #2 done, BUT I found the perfect shot to share.
For those of you that don't know, I'm taking part in a photography project.
Where there is a theme each week and we take at least one picture to represent that theme. It can be as creative as you can imagine, or as simple as this weeks. I love it so much. It's a picture that I kind of want to frame I love it so much :) Anyways.. Please click Here if you'd like to join in on my little mission that I'm taking part in! Should be a blast!
The theme of this week is "made with love". When I was thinking about this and looking through my pictures I came across something that I made a point to shoot. Giuliana had her first "big girl" bath this week and it was so sweet to see how much she enjoyed it. She wasn't so sure at first and then decided that it was pretty fun to just be able to sit up and see her toys instead of laying down in the "baby tub". She played and played, to the point that the water had begun to get chilly. :)
After she got out I knew I had to capture her little "prune toes", and boy did she have some good ones.
Her precious little feet are one of my favorite things anyways, but all "pruney" they are even more adorable!
This picture for the week represents a couple things. First off, her bubble bath. I know it may sound cheesy, but I knew she would love playing and splashing around in her bubble bath, so I made it for her. That's the first "made with love" tie to the picture..
The second is much more. The second is that God has given us feet. Yes, I know, you're probably going... wow... deep! ;) haha, but think about it. What would we be without feet. Our feet take us to all of the amazing experiences we have had in life. Our feet walk us to see people that we love, care about, need to comfort, need to hug, have to tell good-bye, or meet for the first time. They are truly a blessing. :) (you're probably still wondering where the deep part is coming in) ;)
He made them out of his love for us so that we could do so much, also so that we could use them to carry His Word to people that need to hear it.
"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" ( Romans 10:14-15 )
May we use our feet to take us and share the good news!.... AND to made a warm bubble bath for someone you love :) <3
For those of you that don't know, I'm taking part in a photography project.
Where there is a theme each week and we take at least one picture to represent that theme. It can be as creative as you can imagine, or as simple as this weeks. I love it so much. It's a picture that I kind of want to frame I love it so much :) Anyways.. Please click Here if you'd like to join in on my little mission that I'm taking part in! Should be a blast!
The theme of this week is "made with love". When I was thinking about this and looking through my pictures I came across something that I made a point to shoot. Giuliana had her first "big girl" bath this week and it was so sweet to see how much she enjoyed it. She wasn't so sure at first and then decided that it was pretty fun to just be able to sit up and see her toys instead of laying down in the "baby tub". She played and played, to the point that the water had begun to get chilly. :)
After she got out I knew I had to capture her little "prune toes", and boy did she have some good ones.
Her precious little feet are one of my favorite things anyways, but all "pruney" they are even more adorable!
This picture for the week represents a couple things. First off, her bubble bath. I know it may sound cheesy, but I knew she would love playing and splashing around in her bubble bath, so I made it for her. That's the first "made with love" tie to the picture..
The second is much more. The second is that God has given us feet. Yes, I know, you're probably going... wow... deep! ;) haha, but think about it. What would we be without feet. Our feet take us to all of the amazing experiences we have had in life. Our feet walk us to see people that we love, care about, need to comfort, need to hug, have to tell good-bye, or meet for the first time. They are truly a blessing. :) (you're probably still wondering where the deep part is coming in) ;)
He made them out of his love for us so that we could do so much, also so that we could use them to carry His Word to people that need to hear it.
"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" ( Romans 10:14-15 )
May we use our feet to take us and share the good news!.... AND to made a warm bubble bath for someone you love :) <3
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
*~Chicken Pot Pie Soup~*
oh my lanta... this was as tasty as it sounded when I read the recipe online. Love Iowa Girl Eats.. which is where I got the link for this recipe. She made her own changes as did I. I was going to half the recipe so that I wasn't left with TONS of leftovers (recipe says it serves 9), but I decided just to make the whole recipe and was happy with the amount that we have. Phil had 2 bowls, I had 1, and there is still enough left for dinner. I'm not sure I believe it serves 9.
I decided to omit the mushrooms in mine because I didn't have any.
Also I used loose bouillon because I didn't have the cube. (1 tsp.= 1 cube)
I didn't have the mixed veggies, so I just used 1/2 steam bag of peas, 1/2 steam bag of corn, 1 carrot pealed.
Anyways... enough talk, more recipe.. here ya go!
1/4 c. flour (to make gluten-free use 2 T. cornstarch instead)
2 c. water
4 c. fat free milk
1 large celery stalk, chopped
1/2 medium chopped onion (I used a red onion)-or purple as I call it ;)
8 oz. sliced baby bella mushrooms
2 chicken bouillons
fresh ground pepper
pinch of thyme
10 oz. frozen classic mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beens, corn)
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed small
16 oz. cooked chicken, diced small (I used 2 chicken breast, but could have used 3)
salt
*Poach chicken breasts in large pot of water until cooked (risen to top), remove and set aside.
*Make slurry of flour and 1/2 c. of cold water, whisking until combined and set aside.
*Pour remaining water (1 1/2 cups) and milk into a large pot and bring it to a boil.
*While you are waiting on the milk to boil begin chopping veggies..
*When it starts to boil, add in veggies, celery, onion, mushrooms, chicken bouillon, fresh pepper (to taste) and return to a boil.
*Partially cover and simmer on low until veggies are soft or about 20 minutes.
*Remove lid and add potatoes and cook until they are fork tender, or about 5-10 minutes.
*Add chicken and slowly whisk in slurry, stirring well as you add. Cook another 2-3 minutes, or until soup thickens.
*At this point give it a taste and see where you are with salt and pepper. I adding quite a bit of salt and pepper.
(This soup would be GREAT in a bread bowl or some homemade bread on the side)
All you have to do now, is ENJOY! :)
Let me know how you guys like this one! :) I thought it was a winner, and will for sure be making it again!
I decided to omit the mushrooms in mine because I didn't have any.
Also I used loose bouillon because I didn't have the cube. (1 tsp.= 1 cube)
I didn't have the mixed veggies, so I just used 1/2 steam bag of peas, 1/2 steam bag of corn, 1 carrot pealed.
Anyways... enough talk, more recipe.. here ya go!
1/4 c. flour (to make gluten-free use 2 T. cornstarch instead)
2 c. water
4 c. fat free milk
1 large celery stalk, chopped
1/2 medium chopped onion (I used a red onion)-or purple as I call it ;)
8 oz. sliced baby bella mushrooms
2 chicken bouillons
fresh ground pepper
pinch of thyme
10 oz. frozen classic mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beens, corn)
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed small
16 oz. cooked chicken, diced small (I used 2 chicken breast, but could have used 3)
salt
*Poach chicken breasts in large pot of water until cooked (risen to top), remove and set aside.
*Make slurry of flour and 1/2 c. of cold water, whisking until combined and set aside.
*While you are waiting on the milk to boil begin chopping veggies..
*When it starts to boil, add in veggies, celery, onion, mushrooms, chicken bouillon, fresh pepper (to taste) and return to a boil.
*Partially cover and simmer on low until veggies are soft or about 20 minutes.
*Remove lid and add potatoes and cook until they are fork tender, or about 5-10 minutes.
*Add chicken and slowly whisk in slurry, stirring well as you add. Cook another 2-3 minutes, or until soup thickens.
*At this point give it a taste and see where you are with salt and pepper. I adding quite a bit of salt and pepper.
(This soup would be GREAT in a bread bowl or some homemade bread on the side)
All you have to do now, is ENJOY! :)
Let me know how you guys like this one! :) I thought it was a winner, and will for sure be making it again!
Friday, January 13, 2012
*~Little Lessons~*
Happy Weekend! Hope it's leading to lots of fun things for all of you! The crapp-O weather decided to rear its ugly head and make our friends unable to travel, so we are spending a quiet weekend at home instead. In a super clean house though!! That's always good! :)
Thought I would blog quickly and share a little something that always touches my heart but hit a different cord today.
Actually since Giuliana was born she very much likes to hold my hand (finger) very tightly. She would fumble around until she felt something familiar and grab on tight. Almost to the point where I would have to move my finger because my fingertip would turn purplish. It's precious. I love that she feels so much more secure holding on to me tightly. As she's gotten older she likes to hold her bottle more or is too sleep and wants to be lazy and just lay there and do nothing while Momma feeds her ;). That's ok, but today she did it again :).
I was feeding her and she reached around with her hand.... fumbled around a little bit because I at first didn't know what she was doing, but then I put my thumb in her sweet little palm and she grabbed on for deal life. As I sat there just sharing at her little fingers around my thumb it made me think.
How often do we reach out and cling to Christ's hand? Do we only do it when we have a major tragedy in our lives, sickness, loss of a job, heartbreak, want something... etc. etc.? Or, do we cling to Him when He provides us with another day, another blessing, the good things in life... do we cling to Him when he is feeding us spiritually? I am speaking to myself because it's easy to cling to Christ just in the hard times. It's easy to only go to Him and pray our hearts out when we NEED something... but we should do it in good times and bad.
My point with this is.. obviously Giuliana wasn't stressed out about anything..... she wasn't hurt, not scared, not angry.... not "trials".... she was simply resting in my arms, and she wanted to rest clinging to the promise that I was right there for her. If you needed me, she was already holding on and in connection with me.
I will no doubt let Giuliana down.. I'm not a perfect mother, nobody is. God however is PERFECT.
Hebrews 13:5 ".... I will never leave you or forsake you."
He will never leave us. Never let go. As long as we "fumble" around to grab His hand, He is there for our security.
M
~May we not just "fumble" around and reach out for Christ when we need Him, but hold on to Him in the sunshine and the storms.~
Peace, Love, and Clinging to the Promise.
Thought I would blog quickly and share a little something that always touches my heart but hit a different cord today.
Actually since Giuliana was born she very much likes to hold my hand (finger) very tightly. She would fumble around until she felt something familiar and grab on tight. Almost to the point where I would have to move my finger because my fingertip would turn purplish. It's precious. I love that she feels so much more secure holding on to me tightly. As she's gotten older she likes to hold her bottle more or is too sleep and wants to be lazy and just lay there and do nothing while Momma feeds her ;). That's ok, but today she did it again :).
I was feeding her and she reached around with her hand.... fumbled around a little bit because I at first didn't know what she was doing, but then I put my thumb in her sweet little palm and she grabbed on for deal life. As I sat there just sharing at her little fingers around my thumb it made me think.
How often do we reach out and cling to Christ's hand? Do we only do it when we have a major tragedy in our lives, sickness, loss of a job, heartbreak, want something... etc. etc.? Or, do we cling to Him when He provides us with another day, another blessing, the good things in life... do we cling to Him when he is feeding us spiritually? I am speaking to myself because it's easy to cling to Christ just in the hard times. It's easy to only go to Him and pray our hearts out when we NEED something... but we should do it in good times and bad.
My point with this is.. obviously Giuliana wasn't stressed out about anything..... she wasn't hurt, not scared, not angry.... not "trials".... she was simply resting in my arms, and she wanted to rest clinging to the promise that I was right there for her. If you needed me, she was already holding on and in connection with me.
I will no doubt let Giuliana down.. I'm not a perfect mother, nobody is. God however is PERFECT.
Hebrews 13:5 ".... I will never leave you or forsake you."
He will never leave us. Never let go. As long as we "fumble" around to grab His hand, He is there for our security.
M
~May we not just "fumble" around and reach out for Christ when we need Him, but hold on to Him in the sunshine and the storms.~
Peace, Love, and Clinging to the Promise.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
*~Blessings from Above~*
Thursday Thursday! One more day until our friends arrive, and we can't wait!!!
I must first admit this morning I had some quiet time and then went back to bed. I didn't want to, but my tension headache was getting the best of that idea, and so to bed I went. Got to sleep another couple hours and then by around 7:30 a.m. Giuliana decided it was time to get up. :) We cuddle for a little while and then started our day.
Lots of cleaning, snuggles, cleaning, more cleaning... more snuggles.. and a little more cleaning.
Does anyone ever feel like the more you clean your house the more unclean you feel like it is. Like, until you actually dust, you don't realize how much stuff needs dusting. How until you vacuum, there is always that one more room that could use a good vacuum. Maybe this doesn't make sense, but it does to me and that's how I felt all day. Cleaning and cleaning and I still have to tell our friends not to expect a super spotless house ;). oh well. It is what it is. :) They don't mind ;)
On a totally other note: I'd like to talk a little about a blessing in my life lately. I have mentioned a little bit through my statuses, but haven't gone in depth until now. So here ya go! :) Listen up, it's a good one!
First of all, I had commented on a friend's page about how she had made baby wipes, little did I know that someone was reading my post and starting to get curious. While I had commented and gone on with my day (or probably moved to Pinterest) ;), a girl named Ashley Hinton had seen my post and thought that my name sounded familiar and that she may in fact know me. She "creeped"(don't worry, it's a joke now) ;), onto my Facebook page to see if she could figure out if she in fact did know me only to find out that she didn't. What she did find out, changed the story forever :) She went on to message me to introduce herself. She realized that I lived in Sterling Heights, MI and that her and her husband live in Clinton Township, MI, which is about 10-15 min. from me. I messaged back all excited and introduced myself and said I would love to get to know her!
It was either the next evening or a couple nights later I got on the computer and was wondering if she would be on FB chat, but when I looked over at the list she wasn't... But then I looked at the "other friends online" (what's the point of that anyways??) and there she was! I struck up a convo and we talked until both of us could barely stay awake! Had a great talk!! She's such a sweet girl and we are super excited to hang out! Here is what I found out while we chatted more that evening::
*Her husband is in his 2nd year of med school while Phil is in his 1st year of residency.
*She loves God! (similarity)
*They GO TO OUR CHURCH!! (YAY!)
*Same service! (similarity)
AND, they are originally from Iowa!!!!!!!! :)
Not to mention that she went to TSPA (The Salon Professional Academy) like I did. (crazy!)... the list seems to go on and on.
So, to sum up the story..... I'm so incredibly excited that God sent a great christian friend into my life to get to know. I feel blessed that God has provided me with another friend to get to know and be encouraged with.
We have already talked about going to bible study together at our church! Which I'm so excited about!
Did I mention I'm excited????
Ok...... So I kind of feel like I have rambled on and on in this post... but the more I talk about it I get more overwhelmed with joy! :)
God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good! :)
I better jet for now, even though I didn't get my devos blogged about, but you get a blessing blog instead :)
*~Peace, Love, and Blessing~*
I must first admit this morning I had some quiet time and then went back to bed. I didn't want to, but my tension headache was getting the best of that idea, and so to bed I went. Got to sleep another couple hours and then by around 7:30 a.m. Giuliana decided it was time to get up. :) We cuddle for a little while and then started our day.
Lots of cleaning, snuggles, cleaning, more cleaning... more snuggles.. and a little more cleaning.
Does anyone ever feel like the more you clean your house the more unclean you feel like it is. Like, until you actually dust, you don't realize how much stuff needs dusting. How until you vacuum, there is always that one more room that could use a good vacuum. Maybe this doesn't make sense, but it does to me and that's how I felt all day. Cleaning and cleaning and I still have to tell our friends not to expect a super spotless house ;). oh well. It is what it is. :) They don't mind ;)
On a totally other note: I'd like to talk a little about a blessing in my life lately. I have mentioned a little bit through my statuses, but haven't gone in depth until now. So here ya go! :) Listen up, it's a good one!
First of all, I had commented on a friend's page about how she had made baby wipes, little did I know that someone was reading my post and starting to get curious. While I had commented and gone on with my day (or probably moved to Pinterest) ;), a girl named Ashley Hinton had seen my post and thought that my name sounded familiar and that she may in fact know me. She "creeped"(don't worry, it's a joke now) ;), onto my Facebook page to see if she could figure out if she in fact did know me only to find out that she didn't. What she did find out, changed the story forever :) She went on to message me to introduce herself. She realized that I lived in Sterling Heights, MI and that her and her husband live in Clinton Township, MI, which is about 10-15 min. from me. I messaged back all excited and introduced myself and said I would love to get to know her!
It was either the next evening or a couple nights later I got on the computer and was wondering if she would be on FB chat, but when I looked over at the list she wasn't... But then I looked at the "other friends online" (what's the point of that anyways??) and there she was! I struck up a convo and we talked until both of us could barely stay awake! Had a great talk!! She's such a sweet girl and we are super excited to hang out! Here is what I found out while we chatted more that evening::
*Her husband is in his 2nd year of med school while Phil is in his 1st year of residency.
*She loves God! (similarity)
*They GO TO OUR CHURCH!! (YAY!)
*Same service! (similarity)
AND, they are originally from Iowa!!!!!!!! :)
Not to mention that she went to TSPA (The Salon Professional Academy) like I did. (crazy!)... the list seems to go on and on.
So, to sum up the story..... I'm so incredibly excited that God sent a great christian friend into my life to get to know. I feel blessed that God has provided me with another friend to get to know and be encouraged with.
We have already talked about going to bible study together at our church! Which I'm so excited about!
Did I mention I'm excited????
Ok...... So I kind of feel like I have rambled on and on in this post... but the more I talk about it I get more overwhelmed with joy! :)
God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good! :)
I better jet for now, even though I didn't get my devos blogged about, but you get a blessing blog instead :)
*~Peace, Love, and Blessing~*
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Give God the Glory, Glory!
Goooooood Morning Michigan! Yep, I said that in my head in the best morning radio broadcasting voice I could muster up at 5:30 a.m.! I think I might be crazy for getting up this early when my 6 month old is still sound asleep, but.. I'm willing to risk that.
I think I am going to start a new plan to help me stay more on top of things in our home. Phil gets up SO early. All this month he is up by around 4:30-45 every morning, only to work a super long day (yesterday he wasn't home until after 8:00 p.m.) come home, try and de-stress a little and then go to bed only to do it again the next day. Thankfully, he is getting off 1/2 days every other day, but that's besides the point. I'm so thankful for him and the hard work and long hours that he is putting in. Made me think... there never is a lack of things that I could be doing around here. Usually I just try and cram whatever I can in while Giuliana is sleeping or playing really quietly, like you saw yesterday in my picture. Why not get up when Phil does and, number one, start my day off right? With God! (yes, I know, genius idea huh?) I have been under the thought until now that I would sneak it in during one of her naps or usually before bed. Not so much.. Besides, starting my day off WITH Him is my goal for this year. Not ending it with Him.
My point in mentioning it on here is that I'm hoping to help myself stay accountable. Maybe get up, blog and spend time with the One who gave me this day. Made me think of this book that I got for Giuliana a while back. It's one of my favorite childhood songs, so you can imagine my excitement when I found this book at Family Christian! Rise and Shine and give God the glory GLORY! Rise and Shine and give God the glory GLORY, Rise and Shine and give God the glory GLORY, children of the Lord!
Now I may not get a blog done every morning, because my other point to getting up early is to get a head start on my house cleaning for the day, but I'll see. I would like to, but that part may have to wait until that evening or later in the day at least. We shall see friends, we shall see! :)
Anyways.... enough talk, and more action.
~Be a Blessing to someone today~, they'll wonder what's wrong with you! :)
Peace, Love and Giving Glory,
Linz
I think I am going to start a new plan to help me stay more on top of things in our home. Phil gets up SO early. All this month he is up by around 4:30-45 every morning, only to work a super long day (yesterday he wasn't home until after 8:00 p.m.) come home, try and de-stress a little and then go to bed only to do it again the next day. Thankfully, he is getting off 1/2 days every other day, but that's besides the point. I'm so thankful for him and the hard work and long hours that he is putting in. Made me think... there never is a lack of things that I could be doing around here. Usually I just try and cram whatever I can in while Giuliana is sleeping or playing really quietly, like you saw yesterday in my picture. Why not get up when Phil does and, number one, start my day off right? With God! (yes, I know, genius idea huh?) I have been under the thought until now that I would sneak it in during one of her naps or usually before bed. Not so much.. Besides, starting my day off WITH Him is my goal for this year. Not ending it with Him.
My point in mentioning it on here is that I'm hoping to help myself stay accountable. Maybe get up, blog and spend time with the One who gave me this day. Made me think of this book that I got for Giuliana a while back. It's one of my favorite childhood songs, so you can imagine my excitement when I found this book at Family Christian! Rise and Shine and give God the glory GLORY! Rise and Shine and give God the glory GLORY, Rise and Shine and give God the glory GLORY, children of the Lord!
Now I may not get a blog done every morning, because my other point to getting up early is to get a head start on my house cleaning for the day, but I'll see. I would like to, but that part may have to wait until that evening or later in the day at least. We shall see friends, we shall see! :)
Anyways.... enough talk, and more action.
~Be a Blessing to someone today~, they'll wonder what's wrong with you! :)
Peace, Love and Giving Glory,
Linz
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
p52 week 1!
Hello Friends!
Well, I'm tackling two of my resolutions today in this post! Go me! :) More blogging and more pictures!
I'm taking part in p52! One of our photographers has put it together!
It's a weekly picture challenge for the year. We are given a subject and taking a picture from that week toward that subject. Interpreted however you like. Should be fun to see everyone's artistic side come out. I'm going to try it! May not be great at being creative all of the time, but I'm determined to make it as good as I can. I'm anxious to see what I'm capable of as well.
My first picture here was taking with my iPhone because it was at my disposal quickly and wanted to get a picture posted, but I will be taking the other ones with my "real" camera! :)
Please join if you'd like. Should be fun!! (link in above!)
Here is my picture for week #1: RESOLUTION
Well, I'm tackling two of my resolutions today in this post! Go me! :) More blogging and more pictures!
I'm taking part in p52! One of our photographers has put it together!
It's a weekly picture challenge for the year. We are given a subject and taking a picture from that week toward that subject. Interpreted however you like. Should be fun to see everyone's artistic side come out. I'm going to try it! May not be great at being creative all of the time, but I'm determined to make it as good as I can. I'm anxious to see what I'm capable of as well.
My first picture here was taking with my iPhone because it was at my disposal quickly and wanted to get a picture posted, but I will be taking the other ones with my "real" camera! :)
Please join if you'd like. Should be fun!! (link in above!)
Here is my picture for week #1: RESOLUTION
*~Peace, Love, and Resolution~*
-Linz
Sunday, January 8, 2012
New Look for a New Year!
Hey Friends!
Well, it's that time. The time that we talk about our resolutions and how we are hoping to keep them... Or how we have failed miserably at them already. I've done a little of both.
My resolutions for the new year:
#1: Pray for my daughter and husband daily.
#2: Spend time with God first, go about my day second.
#3: Eat CLEAN.
#4: Lose 15 lbs. (yes, I know, isn't that everyone's??)
#5: Take more pictures.
#6: Declutter my house, one day at a time!
#7: Drink more water, NO SODA!
The list could go on and on, but I'm beginning to feel overwhelmed by just writing these few.
So far the verdict isn't amazing.. one that I have kept with fully is no soda! Woohoo, go me! It's an accomplishment, let me tell ya. 1 week+ in, and I am feeling good. Already done around 5 lbs! (the 15 is on top of that!)
The first two are obvious ones.. I believe prayer should start in the home. If we can't pray for the people we love the most, how can we pray for anyone else.. and why is daily prayer time so hard? Hmmph. I'm excited to get better in this area.
Daily time with the Lord, beyond prayer is so important as well. Again, as cliché as it sounds, we should love the God the most and if we can't spend time with Him showing him our love and devotion, how can I properly show that to my family. Proverbs 31 woman... that is my goal. "We should be the type of woman that when our feet hit the ground the devil says.. 'oh crap, she's up'!"
Eating clean. I haven't done great at this so far. With beginning the year with boy scout popcorn staring at me... plus my obsessive craving for oreos.. I'm working on this one. (can I remind you though about the soda that I HAVEN'T drank!) ;) Anyways.. Eating clean to me can have different meanings to each. My feeling about is this:
Unhealthy food seems complicated to me.. look at the label. Can you really pronounce anything in it? If people ask you what is in it, do you say.. "I don't know, but it's really good!" I've been there.. still do, but I'm trying.
Eating Clean to me is just a matter of:
~Knowing what's in the foods that you eat,
~Eating no red meat (lots of fat!),
~Trying out new veggies that I haven't liked or haven't had before and incorporating them into our meals the best I can,
~Three simple words, (Baked not Fried)! :)
~Water, water, water!!!
I'm excited to see what new meals this year brings to us.. I am anxious to start preparing healthier meals for my family. If I can better at this blogging thing this year, I'll have to share some of my new try-out meals with you all! :)
* oh! that's another resolution. BLOG MORE! ;)
Oh, next, Lose 15 lbs...... I don't think I need to go on. Except I am thinking of trying "Insanity"...... I'll report back if I do!
Taking more pictures. I think I've taken my fair share, and I think I'm getting better, but I really want to take more pictures in general! Phil and I don't have a ton of pictures together over the past few years.. how sad is that? lol. We just don't carry a camera around with us, and if I have the camera, it's pointed at my little nugget of a daughter (WHICH is perfectly fine!), but Momma and Daddy aren't going to have any pictures to accompany all of those that she'll have. I want to take more of her too. Capturing any-and every-thing! She is already growing up so fast. 7 months already on the 28th! WHOA!. where did my newborn go?
Declutting my house. I found a great thing on Pinterest about decluttering your house in a year, 1 day at a time. It is awesome. Really breaks things down for you! Even the top of your dresser, it breaks it down in like 3 days. The left side of the dresser top one day, the middle the next and the right side the next day! crazy... but when you break it down like that you are more likely to tackle something like decluttering in general. it somehow seems less overwhelming!
Last but certainly not least.. Water. I don't love it. I craved it while I was pregnant (ICE EVEN in it, which if you know me at all, that's strange!), but now I could take it or leave it. I would much rather have the enemy (soda!). ha! BUT I'm sticking it to the can on this one! I've ventured into La Croix territory, and while I hated the first sip that I tried.. I've been adding Mio to it, and it's turning out not to be too shabby. We'll see. I'm not 100% sold yet ;)
Well.. this post is getting super long and by now you're probably wondering why you started reading this incredibly long ramble of a post in the first place. I promise you, I'll try and pull my scattered thoughts together for a future post.
Take Care Friends!!
*~Peace, Love and a New Me~* :)
Well, it's that time. The time that we talk about our resolutions and how we are hoping to keep them... Or how we have failed miserably at them already. I've done a little of both.
My resolutions for the new year:
#1: Pray for my daughter and husband daily.
#2: Spend time with God first, go about my day second.
#3: Eat CLEAN.
#4: Lose 15 lbs. (yes, I know, isn't that everyone's??)
#5: Take more pictures.
#6: Declutter my house, one day at a time!
#7: Drink more water, NO SODA!
The list could go on and on, but I'm beginning to feel overwhelmed by just writing these few.
So far the verdict isn't amazing.. one that I have kept with fully is no soda! Woohoo, go me! It's an accomplishment, let me tell ya. 1 week+ in, and I am feeling good. Already done around 5 lbs! (the 15 is on top of that!)
The first two are obvious ones.. I believe prayer should start in the home. If we can't pray for the people we love the most, how can we pray for anyone else.. and why is daily prayer time so hard? Hmmph. I'm excited to get better in this area.
Daily time with the Lord, beyond prayer is so important as well. Again, as cliché as it sounds, we should love the God the most and if we can't spend time with Him showing him our love and devotion, how can I properly show that to my family. Proverbs 31 woman... that is my goal. "We should be the type of woman that when our feet hit the ground the devil says.. 'oh crap, she's up'!"
Eating clean. I haven't done great at this so far. With beginning the year with boy scout popcorn staring at me... plus my obsessive craving for oreos.. I'm working on this one. (can I remind you though about the soda that I HAVEN'T drank!) ;) Anyways.. Eating clean to me can have different meanings to each. My feeling about is this:
Unhealthy food seems complicated to me.. look at the label. Can you really pronounce anything in it? If people ask you what is in it, do you say.. "I don't know, but it's really good!" I've been there.. still do, but I'm trying.
Eating Clean to me is just a matter of:
~Knowing what's in the foods that you eat,
~Eating no red meat (lots of fat!),
~Trying out new veggies that I haven't liked or haven't had before and incorporating them into our meals the best I can,
~Three simple words, (Baked not Fried)! :)
~Water, water, water!!!
I'm excited to see what new meals this year brings to us.. I am anxious to start preparing healthier meals for my family. If I can better at this blogging thing this year, I'll have to share some of my new try-out meals with you all! :)
* oh! that's another resolution. BLOG MORE! ;)
Oh, next, Lose 15 lbs...... I don't think I need to go on. Except I am thinking of trying "Insanity"...... I'll report back if I do!
Taking more pictures. I think I've taken my fair share, and I think I'm getting better, but I really want to take more pictures in general! Phil and I don't have a ton of pictures together over the past few years.. how sad is that? lol. We just don't carry a camera around with us, and if I have the camera, it's pointed at my little nugget of a daughter (WHICH is perfectly fine!), but Momma and Daddy aren't going to have any pictures to accompany all of those that she'll have. I want to take more of her too. Capturing any-and every-thing! She is already growing up so fast. 7 months already on the 28th! WHOA!. where did my newborn go?
Declutting my house. I found a great thing on Pinterest about decluttering your house in a year, 1 day at a time. It is awesome. Really breaks things down for you! Even the top of your dresser, it breaks it down in like 3 days. The left side of the dresser top one day, the middle the next and the right side the next day! crazy... but when you break it down like that you are more likely to tackle something like decluttering in general. it somehow seems less overwhelming!
Last but certainly not least.. Water. I don't love it. I craved it while I was pregnant (ICE EVEN in it, which if you know me at all, that's strange!), but now I could take it or leave it. I would much rather have the enemy (soda!). ha! BUT I'm sticking it to the can on this one! I've ventured into La Croix territory, and while I hated the first sip that I tried.. I've been adding Mio to it, and it's turning out not to be too shabby. We'll see. I'm not 100% sold yet ;)
Well.. this post is getting super long and by now you're probably wondering why you started reading this incredibly long ramble of a post in the first place. I promise you, I'll try and pull my scattered thoughts together for a future post.
Take Care Friends!!
*~Peace, Love and a New Me~* :)
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